First Eye Cataract Op - immediate aftermath?

OH is having his first cataract op tomorrow morning and it seems that most of our friends have had the op and are saying “you’ll be fine”. I can believe, long term, it will be but for the following 24 hours he’ll be wearing an eye patch. He will then have two eyes that will be in completely differing states of health. His greatest pleasure in life is reading (including the newspapers online). We lead very independent lives and suddenly he won’t be able to drive off on his own when he wants to buy something.
Those of you who have been through this, I’d welcome any tips/guidance and experiences please. How was it for you in those early days, when it was your first op? How did you cope/come through it all? If you are a great reader, how did you manage? What could you and couldn’t you do? How long before you were given the all-clear for driving? Anything else that would be useful to know? Thanks.

I had two cataracts done in three months of each other in 2021. The scariest part of it all is not knowing what is going to happen but after the first one, I was more relaxed and welcomed it knowing I would be able to see again properly. Both times I was finished before being allowed home at midday and only if someone collected me and spent the day/night with me and had to sign for this. I had a patch over the eye which was then taken off at beg of next morning at the eye clinic which was outside of the main clinic where they operate but it was the same surgeon - a lovely man too! No problems whatsoever as they put a lens in that is the same as your current prescription but obviously not progressive so reading glasses still needed. Then for the next 15 days, eye drops twice a day and a plastic shell taped over the operated eye to protect in bed and then after that, back to normal. Yes you can drive more or less as normal within a day or two after the op but because I was having the two done, I had to wait three months before I could get new glasses that suited both eyes especially for progressive and for driving although I could see very clear without them. I have had no problems since and thank god I had it done even though I was relatively young but as my even younger sister had it done same year, it was mentioned that it can be genetic as both my parents were young too. There is no wearing of dark glasses like in the old days either. I opted to pay for the half day use of room and not a whole day, you don’t need it unless you live alone or can’t get transport home and tea and biscuits were provided. All in all the experience was not painful and you do have to strip everything off and wear paper jammies, paper foot covers and a charlotte on your head to keep germs minimal, my sister in UK wore her ordinary clothes and jacket and shoes whilst being done! Good luck

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Hi Sue I’ll echo what your friends have already told you - he’ll be fine, don’t stress about it.
You won’t want to hear about my two experiences because they are not typical (other health related and eye issues) but I think he will find that the brain is extremely resilient and will adjust the sightedness to accommodate the change.
Another anecdotal comment though… a friend of ours had a cataract operation and we were amazed to see her in the town at the market the next day - having driven herself there.
She went on to have the other eye done a week later IIRC and had different lenses installed - one for reading and the other for normal sightedness. She had no ill-effects at all (this is quite normal apparently).
Please give your OH our best wishes and tell him not to worry. The Doctors do this every day and it is simply routine to them.

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It takes about 15-20 mins from being in theatre to going to recovery for an hour. I rather liked the relaxant, it was better than a couple of bottles of wine and they wire you up to a heart monitor and an automatic cuff to track your blood pressure, that bl**dy hurt it squeezed my quite thin arms. I got given a card with the lens prescription on it and found out they were manufactured in the next town! I also returned to my cleaning job two weeks later as you are not supposed to go where there is dust for that time, nor swimming in public pools and watch out for branches, anything that could go in the eye as it heals.

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Thank you both for your reassurances. I wonder if our eye clinic is making more of an issue of it than some? Hence my anxiety. For example, @Shiba you say drops twice a day. I am going to be putting 7 drops a day into OH’s eyes for the next two weeks - two different remedies 1x 4 times. 1x3 times!

Hi Sue. Please don’t worry! All will be fine.

My Agnes had her cataract done and was bushy tailed within 48 hours.

Your husband won’t need to wear a lampshade because he (probably) doesn’t try to scratch his eyes with his foot.

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But may rub it at night - hence the eye patch at night. :grin:

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Most likely but the morning after inspection at the eye clinic will confirm what he has to have. Its more to keep the eye free of infection and help the healing than anything but I think it was only one good drop each time. I presume he has already seen the anaesthetist regarding the local he will be given, thats usually a couple of weeks prior. Both times I had to be at the clinic for 7am and went into theatre some time after 9am wrapped in a duvet to keep me warm.

lucky you… I was given a GA in both cases (on the second occasion admitted overnight the day before and after the op) as the surgeon needed to do some serious laser reparation to the retina - 21k hits with the laser apparently!

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Sorry to hear that, clearly not a straightforward case. I can still see all those bright squiggles when I think about it and the colours too!

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That was the experience our friend mentioned too… I think she described it as a kaleidoscope of colours…

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Yes, I had bit of retina welding work done on one eye ten years ago. It’s all held fine :slightly_smiling_face:

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ah but - didn’t they use an acetylene torch in those days for welding John?

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And the level of MRSA in UK hospitals compared to France is??

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Oh, be careful with that Jane. Tim17 will be after you tarring you with the same negativity brush that he uses on me :slightly_smiling_face:

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I see very badly out of one eye, to the extent that I often realise I have closed it and not noticed. A liability if trying to do things in 3 D (eg put top back on bottle) but makes no difference for reading .

Nope. He is “done” tomorrow morning and then goes back in a week’s time - so not all done in the same way - interesting.

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No idea but it shocked me after all the prep I had to do that she didn’t have to. Its obviously guidelines held by each country concerning their level of infection control and what the clinics demand. A dear friend caughts MRSA here in hospital after a routine op and never recovered to go home again so asking about levels is a non starter and I wasn’t berating the UK, just stating facts as they happened.

Again another difference in how clinics operate. I had to be at the Opthalmo clinic attached to the main clinic for 9am prompt and the other three patients who were in with me were there also and we all went in, had our eye examined, were given our prescription for the drops and coques and sparadrap tape, plus a letter for the doctor from the surgeon explaining what he had done. Is your husband goinginto a clinic or a main hospital as this might be where the difference comes from?

OH was originally seen by the surgeon at the eye clinic he attends. The op will take place in the local hospital. We have been given all the info you got after your op a month ago, including prescriptions.